Queens Faculty, in a poignant commemoration ceremony, paid a heartfelt tribute to the enduring legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The occasion served as a platform to honor the profound affect of Dr. King’s imaginative and prescient and ideas, whereas additionally shining a highlight on the exceptional contributions of Jennifer Jones Austin, a distinguished advocate for social change and CEO/govt director of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Businesses (FPWA).
FPWA is a company dedicated to preventing for equal alternative for all, specializing in dismantling systemic obstacles for individuals of coloration, ladies, and youngsters.
The ceremony, held on Sunday, was marked by a spirit of reflection, unity, and appreciation for the continued relevance of Dr. King’s teachings. In his tackle, Queens Faculty President Frank H. Wu eloquently highlighted the importance of Dr. King’s legacy in shaping the ethos of Queens Faculty and reiterated the establishment’s dedication to fostering a neighborhood rooted in justice and equality. He additionally spoke of the connection that Dr. King has to Queens Faculty.
He additional elaborated, “we really feel a particular bond to Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. as a result of in 1965 he delivered a significant speech in our Coldea Auditorium and it was for the reminiscence of President John F Kennedy. Dr King got here and he spoke concerning the homicide of Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner. They had been civil rights employees who went right down to register voters…and so they had been brutally killed. Goodman was a scholar right here and Schwerner’s brother and household have been concerned with Queens Faculty and the Metropolis College of New York, so we named our clock tower on the library Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner of their reminiscence, so we really feel a selected bond to Dr. King due to his historic go to these a few years in the past.”
Jennifer Jones Austin hailed as a daughter of the civil rights motion and a distinguished advocate for social justice, conveyed heartfelt gratitude throughout her acceptance speech. Recognizing the importance of the consideration bestowed upon her, she expressed appreciation for Queens Faculty’s acknowledgment, contemplating it a testomony to the progress made and a reminder of the continued work forward.
“As a daughter of the civil rights motion, I’m a beneficiary of all the great that resulted from the exhausting work, the sweat, tears, and bloodshed by the leaders and doers of that motion, and as a daughter and beneficiary I’m now the burden-bearer of this generations civil rights motion. You too are the burden bearers for as Dr. King and different selfless leaders taught us, our work is not going to be completed till all God’s kids are free…they didn’t march for just a few to be free by the burdens of poverty however for all to be free. And so we come collectively to select up the burdens laid down by our leaders who’ve gone on to their reward in glory and to recommit ourselves to the conflict in opposition to poverty, the conflict in opposition to gun violence, the conflict in opposition to persevering with discrimination on the premise of race, sexual orientation, immigration and gender, injustice, disenfranchisement that threatens current and way forward for our youngsters.”
Austin was raised in a household energetic within the civil rights motion, her father being a confidant of Martin Luther King Jr, serving as president of the New York chapter of the Southern Christian Management Convention, and president of its financial justice arm, Operation Breadbasket, regionally and nationally.
The commemoration at Queens Faculty stood as a robust reminder of the enduring legacy of Reverend Dr. King Jr. and the collective duty to uphold his teachings in making a extra simply and equitable society. The occasion showcased how instructional establishments, via significant tributes and recognition of up to date advocates similar to Jennifer Jones Austin, can proceed to encourage constructive change inside their communities and past.
